September 3

"By incorporating the Army's timeless traditions with iconic styling and unparalleled standards for performance, fit and function, consumers can wear the pride they feel for our troops."

--A US Army spokesman, commenting on the sale to consumers of officially endorsed military merchandise at their local department store

“The invisible hand often seems invisible because it's not there.”

--Joseph Stiglitz

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Public Diplomacy in the 21st Century By James Glassman, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy - Reviewed by David T. Jones, American Diplomacy: Glassman is the fifth undersecretary in nine years since the position was created; 40 percent of the time it has been vacant. He will concentrate on public diplomacy as a "war of ideas" in which he is the "supreme allied commander" for the conflict.

Events: The New Age of Public Diplomacy, Thursday 11 September 2008 13:00 to 14:00 – Chatham House What’s New: On the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, America's Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy will discuss his diplomatic strategy, which places an intense focus on defeating violent extremism with the power of ideas. In his first address outside the United States, Mr. Glassman will discuss how tools of persuasion and inspiration can accomplish victory.

Volatile Middle East Presents U.S. With 'Danger and Opportunity': Former Amb. Edward Djerejian Outlines Solutions to Crises in Global Hotspots – marketwatch.com: Djerejian: “Our public diplomacy has lacked strategic direction since the end of the Cold War. The task now is to reinvent this role in an effective manner within the government.”

The misimpressions of the cover of good intentions - Reason Wafawarova, talkzimbabwe.com: In September 2004, a Pentagon advisory panel, the Defence Science Board (DSB) wrote this, “Muslims do not hate our freedom, but rather they hate our policies......when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy.”

Brown on PD and Propaganda – Jeff, The Bling Cycle: War, Politics, & Media: “Somewhat interesting article by John Brown, who resigned from the State Department in 2003. Tries to etch out the line between Public Diplomacy and Propaganda. I think that thinking about this distinction is important.”

Cultural diplomacy the "most acceptable" public diplomacy? – Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Braodcasting and Public Diplomacy: Genuine expressions of culture are not imposed by governments. Cultural exchange is a good thing, as are the import and export of cultural products. But "cultural diplomacy" is probably an oxymoron, and doing it "strategically" is a frightening notion.The United States was probably attempting strategic cultural diplomacy when it sent its jazz "ambassadors" abroad in the 1950s. But, overseas, these musicians said what they wanted to say, regardless of whether it meshed with U.S. policies. It turned out that this reflected better on the United States than any orchestrated cultural campaign.

Manufacturing Consent For Whom? – Mizgîn, Rastî: Quotes from Noam Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent: “It should also be noted that in the case of the largesse of the Pentagon and the State Department's Office of Public Diplomacy, and the subsidy is at the taxpayers' expense, so that, in effect, the citizenry pays to be propagandized in the interest of powerful groups such as military contractors and other sponsors of state terrorism.”

9th International Agenda Setting Conference – European Agenda: The International Agenda Setting Conference has been known as an incubator for new projects and collaborations between organizations and individuals. This year, workshops will focus, inter alia, on public diplomacy.

Canada behind US, Britain in wooing India, says expert – The Times of India: Ryan Touhey, an expert on India-Canada relations, said said Canada might have signed new trade, science and technology pacts with India, but its "public diplomacy spending in India is negligible."

Το Facebook της ΕΕ και η διπλωματία των πολιτών - Αλλη Αποψη: Mention of public diplomacy.

Shopping Day - cmb, Your Prodigal Son:“With a predictability that deeply embarrasses me, I started today with a clear sense of what classes I was going to take this semester and, by the end, I was flummoxed. This is all thanks to 'Shopping Day,' which at Fletcher consists of a full day of professors given brief (25-30 minute) synopsis of their courses. It's an interesting idea, and helpful, but you're a fool if choose your classes before seeing the professor's teaching style and hearing his or her vision of the course. Based on these two factors alone, U.S. Public Diplomacy was out and The Rise of China in the 21st Century was almost (almost!) in."

RELATED ITEMS

Mistakes By Afghan Translators Endanger Lives, Hamper Antiterrorism Effort- Ron Synovitz, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: When US or NATO soldiers need to communicate with Afghan villagers, they rely on translators provided by private contractors. But for various reasons -- regional dialects, cultural misunderstandings, or even ethnic animosities -- translators in Afghanistan often don't relate everything they hear.

Arab Propaganda Reaches New Heights – Zionism and the State of Israel: Hamas has released a new propaganda film showing the “destruction” of the Temple Mount caused by ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israeli soldiers digging under the Temple Mount. This is of course only part of a campaign to convince the Arab world that Israel is plotting to take over the Temple Mount and do away with the Al-Aksa Mosque.

EU capital faces Georgia and Russia propaganda campaign -Leigh Phillips, Euobserver: The guns may have fallen silent in Georgia but the propaganda war on who started the conflict has just begun, with Russia and Georgia each selling their side of the story to diplomats, MEPs and media in Brussels.

Russia and a new democratic realism - Francis Fukuyama, Financial Times: Democracy promotion -- a good thing -- has been deeply tainted by its association with the Iraq war and US security interests. The next president will have to “detoxify” (in the phrase of Tom Carothers from the Carnegie Endowment) the very concept of democracy promotion.

Obama’s “Talking” Cure - Joshua Muravchik, Commentary: Should we talk with our enemies? Yes -- to tell them what we think of them, and what we ourselves stand for. We should talk to them, that is, on our own terms and not theirs, and with their captive peoples in mind.

The British are the masters of deceit: From bamboozling the Nazis in the war to fooling the Taleban this week, nobody lies better than those famous stiff upper lips - Ben Macintyre, The Times (London): Many of the practitioners of British deception remain largely unknown and unsung, such as Sefton Delmer, the journalist who masterminded black propaganda.

Three Stooges were pioneering Nazi fighters in Hollywood, making fun of Adolf Hitler - Bruce Dancis, Chicago Sun-Times: Most of the Hollywood studios remained reluctant to address -- dramatically or comedically -- the Nazi state, its persecution of Jews and the war Germany had started in Europe in 1939. They were being pressured from conservatives and isolationists in Congress who opposed U.S. involvement in the European war and were concerned about Hollywood making "propaganda" films attacking the fascists.

The limits of propaganda - 3 Gros and the Napoleonic propaganda machine, Napoleonic paintings: Although portraits of Napoleon were manufactured on a large scale and distributed widely, they could only act as propaganda for the regime up to a certain point.

ONLY IN AMERICA?

South Carolina sheriff buys tank to conduct raids – boingboing: “The Richland County, South Carolina Sheriff's Department … has just obtained an armored personnel carrier, complete with a belt-fed, .50-cal turreted machine gun. Sheriff Leon Lott has charmingly named the vehicle 'The Peacemaker,' and insists that using a caliber of ammunition that even the U.S. military is reluctant to use against human targets (it's generally reserved for use against armored vehicles) will ‘save lives.’"

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